Abstract <p>The scientific and organizational activities of the prominent Ukrainian astrophysicist, planetary scientist, and academician of the Ukrainian SSR Mykola Pavlovych Barabashov are studied. The stages of the scientific path of the talented scientist, one of the founders of planetary science, who devoted his life to the study of the bodies of the Solar System, are highlighted. The ways of implementing well-known astronomical projects initiated and implemented by Academician Barabashov at Kharkiv State University in order to organize high-quality observations and improve the results obtained are analyzed. The contribution of Mykola Barabashov to the formation of planetary research in the astronomical institutions of the Soviet Union through the functioning of the Commission on Planetary Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences, which he oversaw for many years, is considered. The photometric and, later, spectrophotometric and polarimetric studies of the Moon and planets initiated by Mykola Barabashov at the Kharkiv Astronomical Observatory led to the formation of a dynamically developing scientific school of planetary science. With the beginning of the space era in human history, the results of the activities of the representatives of the school received international recognition, as the study of solar system objects has acquired applied significance. The article characterizes the areas of works that were jointly carried out by the students and followers of Academician Mykola Barabashov at the Kharkiv Astronomical Observatory together with their scientific leader. The degree of involvement of Kharkiv astronomers under the general leadership of Mykola Barabashov in the projects of the Soviet space program in the early 1960s is determined.</p>